News releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — TransCanada today announced a scheme to circumvent President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline by splitting the project into two segments to be reviewed through separate regulatory processes. In an alarming about-face, the Obama administration welcomed the announcement, stating that it will take every step to expedite the federal permitting process.

Kim Huynh, dirty fuels campaigner at Friends of the Earth, had the following statement in response:

"TransCanada is grasping at straws. The permit for the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline was rejected. Desperate to placate shareholders, TransCanada is trying to dodge a robust environmental review process. No matter how TransCanada tries to slice and dice it, the Keystone XL pipeline would be an environmental disaster.

"The administration must stop trying to have it both ways. President Obama cannot expect to protect the climate and to put the country on a path toward 21st-century clean energy while simultaneously shilling for one of the dirtiest industries on Earth. What the administration seems to be missing is that the southern segment of this pipeline would exacerbate air pollution in refinery communities along the Gulf Coast and threaten our heartland with costly spills — all for oil that likely won't make it to Americans' gas tanks.

"Any attempt to move forward with any segment of the pipeline will be met with the same fierce grassroots opposition that stopped the pipeline the first time. We know that Big Oil will stop at nothing to further its profits, but it can't hide the dirty reality that importing more tar sands oil through our heartland endangers our land, water and climate.

"Friends of the Earth will continue to work to ensure that no part of this project is approved — not now, not ever."

Friends of the Earth fights to defend the environment and create a more healthy and just world. Our current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.